An unforgettable story of friendship, love, and the impact of childhood from the first Arabic-language winner of the Man Booker International Prize.

Raised as sisters, Ghazaala is devastated when her friend Asiya is forced to leave their small, mountainside village following a tragic circumstance. It’s a separation that haunts her into adulthood, and she never gives up on finding a love that might replace the bond they shared.

Ghazaala soon falls for a young violinist, despite her parents’ opposition. His position in the Royal Oman Symphony Orchestra brings the young couple to Muscat, where Ghazaala enrolls in university while balancing the duties of a new wife, caring for her husband, their home, and before long, their twin boys.

During this time, Ghazaala grows close to Harir, who recounts the story of their deepening friendship over ten years in the pages of her diary. The elusive, ghostly existence of Asiya exerts a force over both of their lives, yet neither Ghazaala nor Harir are aware of the connection. From the brilliant mind of Jokha Alharthi comes a tale of childhood friendship, and how its significance—and loss—can be recalibrated at different stages of life.

JOKHA ALHARTHI is the first Omani woman to have a novel translated into English. Her previous novel, Celestial Bodies, was the first book translated from the Arabic to win the International Booker Prize (formerly known as the Man Booker International Prize). Alharthi is the author of three previous collections of short fiction, three children’s books, and three novels in Arabic. Narinjah (The Bitter Orange Tree) received the Sultan Qaboos Award for Culture, Art, and Literature. She completed a Ph.D. in Classical Arabic poetry in Edinburgh and teaches at Sultan Qaboos University in Muscat.

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MARILYN BOOTH is Emerita Khalid bin Abdullah Al Saud Chair for the Study of the Contemporary Arab World at Oxford University. In addition to her academic publications, she has translated many works of fiction from the Arabic. Recent titles include No Road to Paradise by Hassan Daoud, Bitter Orange Tree by Jokha Alharthi, Voices of the Lost by Hoda Barakat, and one of the first Arabic novels to be penned by a female author, Alice Butrus al-Bustani’s Sa’iba, forthcoming in Oxford World’s Classics. Her translation of Alharthi’s Celestial Bodies won the 2019 International Booker Prize

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“This is a meditation on connection, love, and loneliness … This is beautifully written literature.” — The Miramichi Reader

“Alharthi mines rich material with her details of Omani history.” — Kirkus

“A mesmerizing story of love and childhood.” — Literary Review of Canada

“Easily the most insightful novel on female friendship of the decade … A haunting and dazzling story.” — The Southern Bookseller Review

“Jokha Alharthi turns her exacting focus and lyrical style to marriage and motherhood in contemporary Oman. Sensitively translated to reflect Alharthi’s ability to switch seamlessly between the different voices of her two central characters … [Silken Gazelles] touches on the constraints and expectations of Omani society.” — Asian Review of Books

“A worthy entry into the pantheon of stories about female friendship.” — Publisher’s Weekly